Grissom Elem School

www.cps.edu

297 Students

Elementary School Pre-K - 8th

School Overview

Virgil I. Grissom Elementary School is a neighborhood public school located in the South Deering community on the far southeast side of Chicago. Serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, the school is part of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district. It is named in honor of Virgil “Gus” Grissom, the second American to fly in space, reflecting the school’s historical roots in an area often characterized by its tight-knit, working-class community identity.

As a traditional neighborhood school, Grissom Elementary focuses on providing core academic instruction while serving as a central hub for families in the 60633 zip code. Like many schools in the CPS system, it aims to foster student growth through a structured curriculum and extracurricular engagement. The school’s location on South Escanaba Avenue places it within a residential sector of Chicago, where it remains a key educational resource for local children as they progress from early childhood education through their transition to high school.

297

Total Students

22.0

Full-Time Teachers

13.5

Student/Teacher Ratio

N/A

Free/Reduced Lunch

Student Demographics

Student Demographics Data Table

Student Demographics for Grissom Elem School
Demographic	Student Count
White	27
Hispanic	229
Black	38
Asian	1
Two or More	2

Hispanic
229 (77.1 %)
Black
38 (12.8 %)
White
27 (9.1 %)
Two or More
2 (0.7 %)
Asian
1 (0.3 %)

School Location

School Details

Status:	Open
School Level:	Elementary School
School Type:	Regular School
Charter Status:*	Public Non-Charter
Virtual Instruction:	No virtual instruction
Shared Time Status:	No
District:	City of Chicago SD 299
Phone:	(773)535-5380
Website:	http://www.cps.edu
Grade Range:	Pre-K - 8th
Total Students:	297
Full-Time Teachers (FTE):	22.0
Pupil/Teacher Ratio:	13.5
NSLP Participation:¹	Yes under Community Eligibility Option (CEO)
Qualified Free Lunch:	0
Qualified Reduced Lunch:	0

* Charter Schools: A public charter school is a publicly funded school that operates independently under a legislative contract (or "charter") with a state, school district, or designated authorizing entity. Charters grant these schools greater operational flexibility over curriculum, staffing, and budgeting in exchange for strict accountability to achieve performance standards established in their charter agreement.

¹ National School Lunch Program (NSLP): The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to eligible children each school day based on household income thresholds or community eligibility options (CEO).

Title I Program Overview: Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) allocates federal financial assistance to local educational agencies and public schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.

Grades Taught

Pre-Kindergarten 13

Kindergarten 35

Grade 1 28

Grade 2 27

Grade 3 37

Grade 4 27

Grade 5 31

Grade 6 39

Grade 7 30

Grade 8 30